The Road Less Traveled

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February 14, 2009

This is what we do when Mom is too busy to plan anything really creative for a holiday:

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Grade 4 Local Geography and History

Our last block of the year--whew! I wish there didn't have to be a "last block of the year". Because no matter what, you're going to be pushing against burnout and the temptation to just bag it all and start summer vacation. The last block *always* gets the shaft in some way or another. Though this block went much better than last year's last block. I felt this was such an important and fun subject--I wanted it to be rich and memorable. I hope it was, even if it didn't quite meet all my expectations. We started with mapmaking. I had Sariah make a map of our neighborhood. I got an idea from the book Mapmaking with Children , and I told her her map must include a scary place, a friendly place, a secret place, a junky places.... and a few more "places" that I can't now remember. She started out doing a detailed job with this but got in a bit over her head with all the trees. Our house is the big one in the middle. My k...

The circle of motherhood

A friend and I were having a conversation recently at the playground. Her good friend's sister (I think) had just been matched with a birthmother, and my friend wanted advice on a certain situation. Apparently, the sister had asked my friend and her friend to come and help her paint the nursery for the new baby. These two friends were hesitant. They worried that the sister was acting impulsively. They worried that the birthmother might change her mind and then the sister would be stuck with an empty nursery. My friend wanted to know what advice I, as an adoptive mother, had for her in this situation. This was a great opportunity for some educating! And so I wanted to share that same education with others--basically with anyone who has contact with an expectant adoptive mom. I told my friend to treat this expectant mother (for that's what she is!) just like any other expectant mother. It's interesting, no one would say to a physically pregnant mother, "Hmmm, you...

The weird mom (sigh....)

Sometimes I get tired of being the weird mom. You know, the one who does things that make no sense to anyone else, even though they make perfect sense to me. Like... thinking that my kids should watch as little television as possible (even if I can't always live up to that!) refusing to buy violent video games for my 7-year-old (yes, anything involving shooting of any kind is violent!) thinking that there is no reason 3- and 4-year olds should be pushed toward reading not wanting to collect every Disney movie ever made thinking that it's perfectly OK that my older children still need parental help to fall asleep refusing to buy toy guns or other types of weapons for my 7-year-old not sending my 3-year-old to preschool refusing to let my 18-month-old cry-it-out in the church nursery wanting to homeschool refusing to buy any product with Disney, PBS, NickJr or other media characters on it (OK, I've given in to toothbrushes and toothpaste....) thinking that PG-13 movies reall...

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